US Grants Iran Visas for UN, Bars Palestinian President
The Facts
- The U.S. State Department said Thursday it had approved visas for a "core delegation from the Iranian regime" to attend the U.N. General Assembly high-level week in New York, citing its "obligations" as the world body's host country.
- The approved delegation includes Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and essential staff. The State Department said the group is smaller than last year's.
- Despite the invite, the Iranians will face travel restrictions and bans on buying luxury and other goods. Last year, Iranian diplomats were barred from wholesale stores such as Costco and Sam's Club, and faced movement restrictions in New York.
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The Spin
Pro-Trump narrative
Hosting the U.N. means honoring the obligation to admit a core delegation, and that is exactly what happened here. The government had to sanction PLO and Palestinian Authority members as a result of ongoing failures to reform or address the proliferation of terrorist activities, but the administration had no choice but to include Iranian officials. Tight travel restrictions and a ban on luxury goods and wholesale club memberships keep regime officials from turning a high-level week into a shopping trip.
Anti-Trump narrative
Letting Iran's president walk into New York while Mahmoud Abbas gets his visa yanked is point-blank hypocrisy. The Headquarters Agreement covers all officials, not just governments it benefits Washington to invite. Blocking a Palestinian leader who backs negotiations and a two-state deal to resolve conflict in Gaza, while hosting a state sponsor of terrorism in the form of Iranian leaders, exposes weak and indefensible policy.
